The present invention relates generally to electrical connectors, and more particularly, to a connector having terminals and receptacles mating at an angle relative to the horizontal force applied to assemble the connector.
Plug-in connectors have become widely known and used in the electronics industry for interconnecting electrical circuits and circuit components. For example, Morrison et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,983 slidably connects electronic equipment to a mounting with pin and socket connectors. O'Keefe, II, U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,975, slidably couples a plurality of spaced, offset rows of connector blocks to a corresponding plurality of terminal pads located on electronic equipment. Belanger, Jr., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,755,906, 4,755,907 and 4,903,168, interconnects electrical substrates to carrier substrates. Tabs on the electrical substrate are guided by sloped channels in the carrier substrate to bring horizontal pins and sockets on the respective substrates into alignment for interconnection. In each case, the mating connector elements of Morrison et al, O'Keefe II, and Belanger, Jr. are coupled along a line parallel to the coupling force.
Such plug-in connectors are needed so that a plurality of connections may be made quickly without tedious and time consuming hardwiring, so connectors may be readily connected and disconnected, and so that compact configurations are made possible where space is at a premium. New structures are therefore continually sought to satisfy these needs and provide improved means for interconnecting electrical circuits and components.